I’m a blind creator, and I want to share my experience with Patreon’s age-verification process because it created a serious accessibility barrier.

Patreon required me to photograph my government-issued passport and take a selfie. The process depended heavily on visual positioning and instructions, making it extremely difficult for me to complete independently.

I eventually completed the verification, but Patreon then disabled my creator page after incorrectly classifying me as under 18. I am 33 years old, and the government ID I submitted confirms that I am an adult.

I contacted Patreon’s accessibility team and requested a manual review and restoration of my creator page. I also contacted its privacy team to cancel a pending account-deletion request. So far, I have received no response from a human representative and no confirmation that the deletion request was cancelled.

I understand why Patreon needs to verify creators’ ages. My concern is that the verification process was inaccessible, the result was incorrect, and there was no obvious way to obtain a prompt human review before my page was disabled.

Has anyone else, particularly another blind or visually impaired creator, experienced a similar problem? Were you able to obtain an accessible verification alternative or a manual review?

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[–] [S] 1 point 1 month ago

Update on my Patreon accessibility case:

Patreon’s Trust & Safety team has responded, but the issue is not resolved. They asked me to upload government-issued identification again and provide a selfie while holding it.

I am blind and use VoiceOver. I already completed Patreon’s identity-verification process, but the system incorrectly classified me as under 18, even though my passport shows that I was born in 1993. Repeating the same visually dependent process creates the same accessibility barrier and risks another incorrect result.

I have asked Patreon to manually review the information already submitted or provide an accessible verification method with direct assistance. I will not upload my identification again until Patreon explains why the original submission cannot be reviewed and addresses the accessibility problem.

I have given Patreon 14 calendar days to provide a clear response, correct the false under-18 determination, remove the restriction, and restore my creator page.

I am sharing this so other blind creators know about the potential accessibility problem. Please do not harass individual support workers; my concern is with the verification process and the unresolved decision.

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